How Our Plans Changed in 2020

Written by Tangerine

Wednesday, December 16th, 2020

No one could've planned for what happened in 2020, including our Forward Thinking contributors. Some ended up with a little extra cash, while others found themselves moving their plans.

Here's how our contributors pivoted their personal finances in 2020.

Saving for a Career Change

When COVID-19 disrupted our home life, it made me realize that I wanted more flexibility in my career. I planned to make the leap from my 9-5 to a freelance writing career full time. In order to make a career change, I knew I had to make saving for it a priority.

I started a savings account to help me pay for startup costs like registering my business and creating a website, and even hiring a business coach to help me with the transition. Most importantly, I included 4 months' worth of salary as part of my savings goal to make sure I had enough cash to cover any months where I might not have as much work coming in.

It took several months, but I finally reached my savings goal. Even though I was nervous about the transition, having been able to accomplish my goal helped me feel ready and prepared to take the leap.

A Little Extra School Money

My year was already going to be one of great change, but starting graduate school remotely in the midst of COVID-19 only added to my stress. That being said, there's one upside to remote learning: saving on some school costs.

With fewer on-campus services available, many schools reduced ancillary fees accordingly. In my case, some of the largest fees that were cut were the athletic centre membership and the city transit pass, which together amounted to nearly $400. I also found that most of my professors altered readings to make use of digital resources available through the university library rather than print materials through the bookstore. Since library fees are paid through my tuition, this has all but eliminated my textbook costs.

I funnelled most of these savings right back into my living expenses — which reduced a lot of financial anxiety and, in turn, made this difficult time just a little more manageable.

COVID Helped Me Become a Handyman

Something that changed for me in 2020 was that I learned to do some home renovations. I'm a bit of a home reno guy, but not a professional by any means. That being said, I think it's a skill that just about anyone can learn. I had extra time on my hands because of COVID-19, so I put it to good use and learned a new skill.

When my back garage door needed replacing, I got quotes from contractors. I found out the job would cost me about $2,000, so I decided to try tackling it myself. I read handyperson books and watched videos online.

I was able to buy the parts with relative ease. That was the simple part. My local big box home renovation store had everything I needed. The project took a week to complete, although I was only working on it for a couple hours a day.

It was fun and fulfilling. It was great to know I can teach myself a new skill and save a lot of money on certain jobs around the house. I'm now more confident that I can do more home reno projects myself in the future and save even more money.

Moving Up One Plan and Delaying Another

When my fiancé and I set our wedding date over two years into the future, we thought we had it all figured out. Little did we know that the gathering restrictions during COVID-19 would derail our big day. We had chosen our venue based on our 185-person guest list, and while we could've moved forward with a significantly reduced guest list and a fancy plated meal instead of a buffet-style dinner, we decided that postponing it made the most sense.

We had already paid a large portion of the wedding costs to our vendors, and we had expected to make the rest of the payments in the weeks leading up to the wedding, so we had money built up in our savings account. We crunched the numbers and felt confident that if we used that money toward a down payment on a house instead, we'd be able to build our savings back up again in time for our new wedding date. We had already been planning to buy a house next year, so it made sense for us to reverse the order of these two life events and buy a house first, while the mortgage rates were low.

Although we're waiting to see whether our wedding will happen next year, we're happy to be settling into our new home.

Twice the Fitness for a Quarter the Price

Before COVID-19 hit, I did several workout classes a week at a Toronto studio. When gyms and studios were forced to close to prevent the spread of the virus, I started working out online with BodybyJojo. For slightly more than I was paying each week for three or four classes, I was now getting an entire month of unlimited workouts for $99.

I can take up to eight live strength, cardio or Pilates classes each week (with real-time feedback) or choose from an extensive library of pre-recorded classes, including meditation. The membership also includes special live workshops focusing on cooking and nutrition or physiology and proper form. All you need is a mat, weights and resistance bands, which are all fairly low cost.

Last but definitely not least, I get to work out in the safety and privacy of my own basement – while throwing in a load of laundry at the same time!

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Written by Tangerine

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